The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - Take A Good, Long, Hard Look At Yourself On The Issue Of Racism -- and, Women or Men, Who Is Best To Lead In The Pandemic?

Episode Date: June 15, 2020

A David Axelrod column on race in the Washington Post on the weekend got me thinking and might get you thinking too. That plus are women better than women at leading us in the pandemic?

And hello there, Peter Mansbridge here with the latest episode of the Bridge Daily. Here it is, Monday, launching week 14 of the Bridge Daily since we started talking about COVID-19, about the coronavirus, about the virus that's impacted us all in one way or another, has changed the way we live in many, many different ways. That's not the only issue we've been dealing with in these last 14 weeks. As you know, the whole issue surrounding the death of George Floyd and lately a number of other deaths, both in the United States and in Canada, that have raised the whole issue of the way we look at race across this continent. First of all, I should say, for those of you who are wondering

whether we're going to go to that new music we had for the weekend special, we might. I got a lot of reaction to it, and it was all very positive. People like that new music, and we just might. I've got to search out to make sure I can use that music. You never know with these things. I also heard from many of you on the weekend who had heard me on Ron McLean's show in conversation on Friday night, where it was Ron and myself and Tanya Talaga discussing this issue

of whether or not we live in a country where systemic racism exists and the many different issues that spring out of that discussion. Tanya was great. I listened to her all day. I made one comment that some of you picked up on where I said that I thought one of the things that had to happen here was all of us, no matter who we are and how we think we've conducted ourselves, need to take a long hard look in the mirror at who we are and how we relate to people of other colors, on a daily basis,

that part of this whole understanding of this issue also includes understanding ourselves in a very personal way. And you've got to be honest with yourself, and that can be difficult. Now, on the weekend, I read something along these lines that really made me think even more

about this issue of understanding ourselves. It was in the Washington Post. And it was by somebody I know, David Axelrod. He was a very close aide to Barack Obama. I'd met David Axelrod a few times. Once when I was in the White House interviewing Barack Obama. I'd met David Axelrod a few times once when I was in the White House interviewing Barack Obama and also not that long ago, late last year where the two of us were involved in a special evening that took place in London, Ontario.

Anyway, he was a senior advisor to Barack Obama. So think about that for a minute. Former reporter, journalist, political activist in Chicago, where Barack Obama first made his name. So David's piece in the Washington Post on the weekend is headlined, I thought I understood issues of race. I was wrong. Okay.

Let me read a couple of lines in there. Remember, as I said, he began work as a journalist, a good one in Chicago, print journalist. So he says, when I left journalism for the life of a campaign strategist, I worked for Harold Washington, who was Chicago's first black mayor. And I spent more than two decades in politics working to tear down barriers to black and Hispanic candidates in places where they had not won before. I had the honor of helping to elect and re-elect America's first black president.

I thought all of this reflected a deep understanding of the struggle, a certification of my manifest commitment to justice and equal rights. I was wrong. Despite my work, I was too often oblivious, or at least inattentive, to the everyday mistreatment of people of color, including friends and colleagues, in ways large and small. Although I was reporting on the issues of police brutality and unequal justice as a journalist, I didn't experience it. My kids didn't experience it. And I never really engaged my black friends and colleagues about their own experiences. I never asked, so far as I can remember, about their own interactions with police or their fears for their children.

The election of a black president was a watershed event in our history, and that struck at the heart of the racist creed. But it didn't end racism. In fact, it provoked a backlash that empowered a racist demagogue and new policies meant to further embed structural barriers to full citizenship for black Americans. So that's David Axelrod, okay? If David Axelrod can look in the mirror and say to himself,

it's the guy who helped elect the first black president of the United States, worked on these issues and wrote about these issues most of his life, if he can look in the mirror today and say he was wrong thinking he understood the issues that face people of color in his country. If he can say that, I'm pretty sure we can say that about ourselves and the way we've understood those similar kinds of issues in this country, whether they be about black people, brown people, indigenous people, you name it.

So I implore you to look at yourself. Look at the way you handle everyday life how you react to things you see when people who don't look are either in the news, on the street you're walking in, in the grocery store, whatever. Be honest with yourself. Okay. That was in the Washington Post. Here's something that was in the New York Times on the weekend. This one will get you thinking too.

It was by Nicholas Kristof, who's one of their opinion columnists, a very good one. Here's the opening line. Are female leaders better at fighting a pandemic? So Christoph's obviously done some research. He says, I compiled death rates from the coronavirus for 21 countries around the world, 13 led by men, 8 by women. The male-led countries suffered an average

of 214 coronavirus-related deaths per million inhabitants. Those led by women lost only one-fifth as many. 36 per million. If the United States had the coronavirus death rate of the average female-led country, 102,000 American lives would have been saved out of the 114,000 lost. Countries led by women do seem to be particularly successful in fighting the coronavirus, noted an epidemiologist that Christoph talked to. New Zealand, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway have done so well,

perhaps due to the leadership and management styles attributed to their female leaders. Virtually every country that's experienced coronavirus mortality at a rate of more than 150 per million inhabitants is male-led. Now listen to this quote from someone who I'm proud to call a friend, Susan Rice. She was the national security Advisor under Barack Obama. Here's what she said on this issue about women. I don't think it's a coincidence that some of the best-run places have been run by women.

New Zealand, Germany, Taiwan. And where we've seen things go most badly, the U.S., Brazil, Russia, the U.K., it's a lot of male ego and bluster. Susan Rice is on the short list for Joe Biden being considered as vice presidential possibility. But it's a crowded short list with some pretty big names on it. I guess Kamala Harris is the number one name on that list, but who knows? You never know with these things.

Here's what Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel of the University of Pennsylvania, you've probably seen him a number of times on various television programs, dealing with this issue of the coronavirus. Here's what he says. We often joke, and I like this, I like this quote, we often joke that men drivers never ask for directions. I actually think there's something to that, also in terms of women's leadership, in terms of recognizing expertise and asking experts for advice and men sort of barreling ahead like they got it.

It's true. I know I always think I can find this. This is like before GPS. I can find this. And Cynthia would be sitting there or my son would be sitting there saying, why don't we just stop and ask somebody? I go, I don't need to do that. I'll find it. I know where it is. I have a sixth sense. You go and bluster. Okay. Listen, I'll tell you one thing. I'd like your help on this. We're seeing these numbers in the States starting to explode. I think it's 20, 22 states now are showing spikes. The numbers are going up in the number of cases. Death rate is still staggeringly high in the U.S.

We still have issues here in Canada, but we seem to be doing a much better job in terms of everything from physical distancing to wearing masks, wear your mask, to washing hands, all of well, and the numbers are reflecting that. See, again in Ontario today, another drop in the number of new cases, even at a time when there's more testing going on. That's all good. However, the speed of reopening becomes an issue, and that's certainly an issue in the states, where the states where reopening has been going full bore, the numbers are going up.

Right? So here's my question. This is where I'd like to hear from you. The debate surrounding whether or not to open the border is going to start happening again soon. It sounds like we're going to be extending that date again another 30 days, but maybe not. Do you want to see the border with the U.S. opened? I mean, it is open to a degree right now because of trade, and that's a needed issue. But generally,

do you want the border open? Do you want American tourists coming into Canada for the summer? Many cases, Americans who own cottages in Canada. Do you want the border reopened? It's an important issue, right? Keep in mind, a lot of the coronavirus cases that happen in Canada are attributed to the return that back with them through the border. Didn't pay attention to the restrictions that had been placed on them. So, yes or no? Want the border opened?

Soon? Now? This summer? Want the border opened? The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. If I get enough responses, I'll give you the result. You don't need to write a detailed story.

Just tell me, yes or no. Border reopened? Soon? You want that? Yes or no? Border reopen? Soon? You want that? Yes or no? The Mansbridge Podcast at gmail.com. All right. Some reopening has been going on, right? And some of the rules and restrictions are being relaxed,

including the possibility that you can see other people in very small groups. So how do you handle that? Do you want to, like, invite people to your house? If you do, what do you, how do you deal with that? Good piece in the Washington Post on, I think it was Saturday, Friday or Saturday. I'll give you a couple of the,

a couple of the pieces of advice that Emily Heil and Jura Concius wrote. Warmer weather has brought a trickle of impromptu socially distanced gatherings, whether driveway drinks or alley happy hours. But is it possible to party in a pandemic? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that virtual get-togethers carry the lowest risk with more risk associated with smaller outdoor

and in-person gatherings in which individuals from different households remain spaced at least six feet apart apart where cloth face coverings do not share objects and come from the same local area okay so better outside than inside and follow those those guidelines encourage people to bring their own food and drinks and identify one person to serve shareable items. I don't know. I'm not big on the idea of shareable items, not yet. So this prof of food microbiology at Rutgers University, Donald Schaffner says, it's important in pandemic times to not think about safe and unsafe. It's all about levels of risk.

So that's basically that nothing's safe. It's just there's a risk level. Anything you do poses a risk, whether it's grocery shopping or going for a walk. But he says the safest course, not socializing at all, comes with mental health and other risks of its own. Maybe we've reached the limit of what we can do with virtual happy hours. So we have to think about reasonable things

to do. So here's some of the things to keep in mind. You know, usually the host provides everything when you have some kind of a get-together at your house. And you're putting your best food forward and making people feel welcome. You still make them feel welcome, but they bring their own drinks, their own food, and their own dishes. Cutlery, too. What about the guest list?

Start small with one or two people. Keeping it short. Staying outdoors is the most sensible way to begin. If your guests are drinking, it might be harder to keep buffers in place. Talking about the six feet, the physical distancing. People loosen up and they might not be able to tell six feet from four feet, she says. You know, I'll tell you one thing that I've noticed. I, you know, I wear a mask almost all the time when I'm outside. Not all the time, but almost all the time.

Certainly in any area where there are other people. And when I'm actually in an area where there are other people in that same area and we're all walking around, you know, I'm focused on the six feet to a point. You know, there are times you kind of forget about it. You suddenly have to pull yourself back. So you do have to keep reminding yourself. here's a good piece of advice. So you're going to have a get-together.

You're going to have one or two, three or four, whatever the max is in your area. You decide you're going to try that. So how do you put out the invites? Send a text? Send an email? Or phone? This article suggests you phone, and here's why.

That way you can explain what you have in mind, and you can hear what your friends are or are not comfortable with. From an etiquette standpoint, we're in uncharted territory, says Mindy Lockhart, founder of a Portland, Oregon etiquette and leadership firm that bears her name. But this goes back to the traditional mindset of a host or a hostess. You always put the needs and comfort of your guests first. Be as straightforward as possible with guests about your expectations, but don't take it personally if a friend isn't ready to get together. Everyone's comfort and risk tolerance should be respected. Also make invitations come as you are.

No judgments on bad air. If you don't want guests coming indoors, weather permitting, tell them that. Anyway, those are some of the things you might want to keep in mind if you're now toying with this idea of getting together with neighbors or friends in a way more than shouting across the roadway or across the driveway or across the backyard fence. All things to keep in mind.

All right, this is the Monday Bridge Daily, launching week 14 of our special coverage, with lots of little reminders and some ideas for each of you. Hope you had a great weekend. It was a little chilly here, but it was sunny all weekend. And that, hey, I'll take that over anything. Sat outside most of the last few days and thoroughly enjoyed it. That's the Bridge Daily for this day.

Thanks so much for listening. You know we'll be back here again in 24 hours. Thank you.